Mixing apparatus and method



M y 0, 1952 c. L. DAY ETAL' 2,596,987

MIXING APPARATUS AND METHOD 1o smu -sheet 1 Filed Nov. 12, 1949 IN VEN1' CR5! mlLaay, v LpmFIPahZ,

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ATTORNEYQ May 20, 1952 c. 1.. DAY r AL 7 MIXING APPARATUS AND METHOD l0Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 12, 1949 INVENTORS.

a i 2i Mammy 10 Sheets-Sheet 3 c. L. DAY ETAL MIXING APPARATUS ANDMETHOD .90 AWE, I

lillllllllllll'llllfllglv May 20, 1952 Filed Nov. 12, 1949 IN VENTORS:qua L..D,a y 3/ EPahZ, .BY C(A/ evvvmm ATTORNEYS.

C. L. DAY ETAL .MIXING APPARATUS AND METHOD May 20, 1952 10 Sheets-Sheet4 Filed Nov. 12, 1949 BY Cam, 1

LeaERahL VCMZMM ATTORNEYS.

May 20, 1952 c. L.) DAY ETAL MIXING APPARATUS AND METHOD 10 Sheets-Sheet6 Filed Nov. 12, 1949 a C,arlL.D ay, L?!) EJ20 7 May 20, 1952 c. DAYETAL MIXING APPARATUS AND METHOD 10 Sheets-Sheet '7 Filed Nov. 12, 1949INVENTORS:

I q c -D y? L 0' BY I ljahl,

ATTORNEYS.

May 20, 1952 c; L. DAY ETAL 2,596,987

MIXING APPARATUS AND METHOD I Filed Nov.- 12, 1949 f l0 Sheets-Sheet 9 wH I. I 'll g H I 7 I, i w H "4 e n i g (Q) N A y N \J :q {I (I) Q O v ag INVENTORS:

ATTORNEYS.

y 20, 1952 V c. L. DAY ETAL MIXING APPARATUS AND M ETHOD l0 Sheets-Sheet10 Filed Nov. 12, 1949 INVENTORS.

1m L- y *v L edEBahZ,

ATTORNEYS.

' w pii wwm Patented May 2%, 1952 UN I '1 ED S TAT E S PAT E-NTJ OFFICEMIXING APPARATUS METHOD Carl L. Day and Leo-F. Pahl,B'altimore,Md-.,;as-

signors -t G10Wl[TC0lk &-Seal Company, -Inc.-, Baltimore, Md.,acorporationof New York.

Application November 12, 1949, Serial N6.-126,-'731 23;c1aims.-- (Cl.259-54) The present invention relates to mixing apparatus and methodsand; more particularly; to anapparatus for mixing beverages such-as softdrinks in the bottles or other containers in which the-beverages aresold.

The invention is an improvement upon that of George W: Newton Patent No;2,216,090; issued September24; 1940.

An-object of the invention is to provide an arrangement whereby thecontainersupports of a" mixing apparatus will be smoothly and[accurately moved from upright position to inverted position and througha reverse movement while the container supports are moving at high speedwith" the rotary table upon which 1 they are pivoted.

,Another object of the invention is the provisionof an apparatus andmethod whereby thorough" mixing; of the syrup and carbonatedwaterin acontainer will be effected.

An additional object is the provision of "an improved drive for a mixingapparatus:

Anothenobjectof the invention is to provide animproved form of containersupport in which acontainermay be moved between upright posi-'- tion' toinverted position and spun about thecontainer axis.

A further object of the invention is-to provide means for'applyinglubricant to a cam gsurface which. controls the tilting movement of thecontainer supports 'as well as to the contacting surfaces which effectspinning of the container sup port. 7

A still further object is to provide an improved arrangement 'fordelivering containers in proper-' ly"sp'aced' apart position to theinfeed dialofa container'handling apparatus. I V Otherfobjects andadvantages of the invention will be apparent from the followingspecification and accompanying drawings wherein:

V Figure 1 is 'a plan view of the'machine; with some of the containersupports omitted.

.Figure 2Iis a vertical sectional view on the line 2%2 of Figure 1, theView omitting some of the container supports.

Figure '3'is a horizontal section on the line 3-- 3'of Figure 4 with thedrive diagrammatically shown.

Figured is a vertical section of the'lower por-'- tion of the machine,the view being taken on the line" 4 -4 of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is an enlarged detail showing the infeed' side of the forwardportion of the machine in plan; some of the container supports beingbroken" away.

Figure '6 -is as vertical section on: the; angled line 76-6 of Figure5."

Figure '7 "is a top-plan .view of the container support 1' tilting-teamsof ,1 the machine,- the view omitting other elements which wouldnormally appear therein:

- Figure 18::isa detail sectional. view on the line 8i-8 of Figure 7.

Figure: 9 is :a I detail view: showing :the outer cam J for tilting:.the :container 1 supports;:i the view being 4 taken. looking toward thelowers; edgeg'of Figure 'l.

Figure "10 is another :view of the-loam illuss trated in Figure 9 Figure=10showing-1the cam: as it appears when F-igures 7 or 9*-areviewedc'from the right.

Figure 11 'is'-'-a vertical" section =ofa container support taken on theline I ll-l of Figure '7.

Figure-12 is a*horizontal section on the line I 2'l 2 or 'Figure- 11.

Figure 13 'is an elevation of the lower-clamm ing memberof acontainersupport} the "view looking towardFig'ure '11 from'theleft:

Figure 14 is a detail sectional view of 'a'lubri-r cant applying device,the view being taken on the angled line "I 4I 4 of Figure "7.

Figure 15' is a horizontal axial-section of a container spacing deviceincludd'in the invention. Figure 16 1s adetail view'of theicontainerspacing device, the, view being taken on .the angled .line I 6. l 6 0iFigure 15;

Figure '17 is a. plan viewof a brake device to stop spinning movement ofcontainers;

Figure 18 isan elevation of the'Figure 17 device, Figure 18 showing-thedevice; of Figure 17 as viewed from the lower-edge-of the latter figure.

Figure; 19 -isan. elevation of the Figure 1'l de-: vice," with partsiinvertical section, the view being takenilooking toward Figures 17-and-18from the-right; and

. Figures 20 and zlare'detail elevations of the device ofFigures 17 to19.

The construction and operation of the apparatus of the present inventionmay be generally described as follows: Referring'to [Figures '1 and 2,the apparatus'comprises a work table 30 including an upper" horizontalsurface 32, the table extending upwardly from the front portion of abase 34;" Base Mincludes a-housing 36 below and extending rearwardlyfrom table 30 in which the driving mechanism of the machine'is mounted.A post 3 8 fixed in the lower wall of housing 36 extends upwardlythrough the housing and has a tubular shaft '40 -jou'rna1led there on,shaft 40 having a rotary table 42 fixed to its upper end. Table 42 has anumber of container supports 44 pivoted at its edge for movementradially of the table. Each container support 44 includes a lowerrotatable container engaging member 46 and an upper cap engaging memberrotatable in a clamping arm 48.

A second or outer tubular shaft 50 surrounds and is journalled upon thetubular shaft 40, shaft 50 having a spinning disk 52 fixed to its upperend and below rotary table 42. Shaft 50 is rotated at a substantiallyhigher speed than shaft 40.

As best shown in Figure 5, capped bottles filled (for example, withsyrup and carbonated water) will be delivered to the machine by astraight line conveyor 54 having its upper run fiush with the uppersurface 32 of work table 30. These bottles will contain a lower layer ofsyrup and a body of carbonated water lying above the syrup. A six ouncebottl usually will contain one ounce of syrup and five ounces ofcarbonated water. Conveyor 54 moves the bottles toward a pocketed infeeddial 5'8 and in order to space the bottles in accordance with thespacing of the dial pockets, a bottle spacing cylinder '58 is driven torotate about a horizontal axis parallel to the direction of movement ofconveyor 54. Cylinder 58 is provided with a generally helical recess orthread 60 (Figures and 16) which is of increasing pitch toward itsoutfeed end so that, as bottles move with the cylinder, they will begradually spaced apart to mesh with the pockets of dial 56. At itsoutfeed end, cylinder 58 includes a non-threaded member 6| which iscurved concentrically with dial 56 to conform to the path of that dial.Hence, bottles will be smoothly directed from the rectilinear path theyfollow with conveyor 54 to the arcuate path of the dial.

Conveyor 54 is driven at such speed with respect to cylinder 58 that itwill urge bottles forwardly against the leading surfaceof the recesses65. Also, cylinder 58 rotates at such speed that bottles movingalong itsoutfeed portion will have the same linear speed as th pockets of dial56. Hence, transfer of bottles to the dial will be effected smoothly andwithout undue noise or marring of the bottles.

In order that the helically recessed cylinder 58 will smoothly receivebottles which may be croweded together in a line on conveyor 54, itsrecess E55 is of zero depth at its infeed end and gradually increases indepth toward its outfeed end. In other words, the root diameter ofhelical recess '55 gradually decreases. As a result, the base line ofthe thread lies on an angle of about 6 to the line of movement ofconveyor 54 throughout at least the major portion of the length ofcylinder 58. A spring-pressed guide member or jam detector 62 at theopposite side of conveyor 54 also normally lies on a line at about 6 tothe line of travel of conveyo 54. Thus, the inner or bottle engagedsurface of guide member 52 will lie parallel to the abovementioned lineformed by the root diameter of thread 6%. As is hereinafter explained,this arrangement provides a smoother infeed of bottles to helicallyrecessed cylinder '58 than is the case where the root diameter isuniform.

Guide member 52, being spring-pressed to the position shown in Figure 5,may swing backwardly or away from conveyor 54 and cylinder 58 in theevent bottles became jammed opposite it. A certain degree of suchmovement will cause the guide member to actuate a switch to stop the 4machine so that a serious jam may be cleared by hand.

Dial 56 will position the bottles upon the container supports 44 as bestillustrated in Figure 6. At the instant that a bottle is received by acontainer support 44, the container support will be substantially on theradial line A of Figures 1 and 5. At this instant, the clamping arm 48of the container support will be in raised position because of theaction of a cam 63 fixed with respect to the post 38. Immediatelythereafter, cam 63 will permit clamping arm 48 to descend by springaction to firmly clamp the bottle in the container support.

With table 42 rotating in a clockwise direction, when a containersupport reaches the radial line B of Figures 1, 5 and 7, the engagementof a roller 64 (Figure 6) upon the container support with a cam plate 66fixed with respect to post 38 will cause the container support to beginoutwardly and downwardly tilting movement with respect to table 42. Aroller 68 on the container support will also follow the portion 10a of ahelical cam rod 10 which cooperates with cam 56 to guide the downwardlytilting movement of the container support. As is best indicated inFigures 9 and 10, the portion 70a of cam rod 10 drops sharply so thatthe container will be rapidly moved from upright to inverted position.

After roller 64 moves off cam plate 66, roller 68 will still bear onthe'portion 10a ofcam 10 and the latter cam will thereby finally controlthe downwardly tilting movement of the container support and bottleuntil the container support reaches line C of Figures 1, 5 and 7. Thenthe container support and bottle will be in the substantially invertedposition illustrated at the right of Figure 2 and a spinning wheel 12included in the container support will come into contact with thespinning disk 52. When the bottle tilts, the syrup at the bottom of thebottle flows down one inner side of the bottle toward the capped end ofthe bottle. Because of the sharp drop in portion 100. of cam '10, themovement of the bottle to the position in which spinning starts willoccur before the syrup reaches the capped end of the bottle. Thus, thesyrup is still distributed along the length of the bottle when spinningstarts. We have found that this method, viz., starting spinning beforethe syrup reaches the capped end of the bottle, causes the syrup andwater to be thoroughly mixed throughout the length of the bottle withina minimum time. On a machine including twenty-eight container supports44 and operating to handle approximately one hundred and fifty six-ouncebottles per minute, disk 52 will rotate at suificient speed to spin thebottles at approximately 2,000 revolutions per minute. V

The driven spinning will continue for about seven seconds and while thecontainer support is moving through approximately of the rotation of thetable 42. Then the roller 68 will contact, on line D (Figures 1 and '7),with the rising portion 10b of cam rod 1'0 shown at the right in Figures1 and 9 also in Figure 10. Hence, the container support will be swungupwardly toward upright position. The container support will reachupright position at approximately the radial line E of Figures 1, '7, 9and 10. Immediately thereafter, a cylindrical surface 14 (Figures 6 and11) forming part of the 0011-. tainer support will come into contactwith a dialshaped and rotatable braking element 16 (Figestate? oft oceas rotat-i I p tt1 tvi1l stil1 co ti'riii to spin -with I o thef'novli -statiofiai "bottle, Inifn'edihe esteemmm 3 (Figures*Z' and GI''WIIF th'" c1an1pi'ng arii-i ma teb lifted sG that thebisttie wn stanefreew upbii container-sup; art 442} -WhIithe"-cohtainer upport; reachesthe radia-lline' F of Figi-ire' 1 the bottle 'will be efifige if theoutfeed dialw ich: wi-11 meve me bbt to the-foutfed portiofi offthe'straight pa's'ses" about "a sprocket wheel 81 fixed to' the shaft whichcarries the outfeed dial "I 8 and then' extends about: a large sprocketwheel 88" fixed to: the rcollar 40 to Which rotary table-*- 42 -iss'ecured: Chain- '85 aalso pas'ses "about as sprocket whee1180s'ecuredto: the -shaft"90. to "whichthe infeed 'dial 56 is-fixed: Then:the chainrpasses about *an idler sprocket 80a which-:maY-bead-"- jus'tably'mounted to take uptensiontin thechairLi A '1u1i"0f"thB chain thenextends 'facross the-front portion of housing 36 :to an idler' sprocket"89b? an'd back tothesprocketfikof the speed'Tducer unit-83;, Y 1

It? will be observed from the" above that sprocket chain drives therotary table-'42 and the infeed-and 'outfeed *dials' 5 5 "and 18; Itwill also: be noted-that the axis of the rotary t'able'vandi those ofthe dials are arranged'at the -apices of a triangle withthe idlers 89aand 80b the driving sprocktfiflying' outside of that"triahgle.

The bottle spacing :cylind'er' 58 isi 'driven1'fr6m speedreducerunit'83-*and motor!!! by the follow: mg arrangeme'ntt A pihionififiwfixed'*to 'the'in feed dial shaft fl meshes 'witha small pinioh90b carriedloy; ai vertical stud carried 1 by a sm'all' housing- 92-removably secured tothe front Walla of='the?baseof the machine; Asis'showrr in' Fig-'1 ofjproperrelation. 1 I

Shaft --9 I qf-housing 02 is connected byswivelcoi1plings03 tovertical-1y. GXtQHQiIIQFStilb? shaft 9 8' which, as :hereinafterexplained; drives the cah be :"diseohnected ifom stud' l 08 A"h"ew binn-As is best indicated in Figure 15, the outfeed end of cylinder 58 ispositioned at ,the point at which bottles will-be engaged by a pocketofinfeed dial 56. The bottles will then move along a curvilinear path withthe dial and under the guidance of the curvilinearly conical frustum orguide member .SI- Member 6| has its curved perip'hery generated by aline which is concentric with'the axis of dial 56.. A fixed and arcuateguide plate I I2 (Figure 1) extends from the outfeed end of themember GIand about the dial 56 to further guide the movement 'of the bottles withthe dial and across the top surface 32 of work table 30.

Again referring to Figure 5, the guide member or detector 62 is mountedabove the inner side of thecontainer conveyor 54 immediately adjacentthe outfeed end of the inner deflecting plate I03. Guide 62 includes avertically arranged plate H5 pivotally mounted at II6 upon'the end of alever I IIfixed to the upper end of a vertical shaft II9 'journalled ina plate II8 adjustably secured to work table surface 32. Not shown, butbelow table 30; the lower end of shaft II9 has a radial arm fixed,thereto. The top surface of the end of the arm is inclined upwardly fromone longitudinal edge thereof and the latter edge is normally alongsidethe lower surface of the downwardly facing and vertically operable pushbutton of a limit switch. A spring connected to the just-mentioned armnormally holds shaft I I9 in such position that the arm will be out ofengagement with the push button. However, if a jam of containers forceslever II'I counterclockwise from the position shown in Figure 5, the armwill sweep under the push button to lift it and thereby. actuate theswitch to stop the machine. v

.- Aspring I28 positioned between plate H5 and lever II'I normally urgesplate I I5 to the position illustrated at Figure 5 wherein its free endwill be in alignment with the outfeed end of the guide plate I03. Asindicated by the numeral I2I, a stop-device limits movement of plate II5 inwardly beyond this position with respect to lever Ill. Theprovision of the spring connection between plate II5 and lever II'Ipermits containers to slightly swing the plate without moving leverII 1. Any counterclockwise movement of lever II! will actuate the pushbutton below table 30 to stop the machine.

It will be observed from Figure 5 that the surface of plate II5 whichbottles will engage lies at an angle'of approximately 6 to the directionof movement of the conveyor 54. It will also be noted that this surfaceof the plate normally lies parallel to the dotted line L indicated inFigure and which passesthrough the bases of the portion of the helicalrecess 60 which is of gradually increasing'depth. In other words, plateII5 ,coacts with the gradually deepened portion of recess 60 so as toguide and hold bottles toward the base of the recess. A guide plate I22(Figure .5) fixed to the adjustable plate II8 extends from the pivotedend of detector plate II5 to a point adjacent dial 56 to cooperate withthe uniform depthportion of recess 60 in directing bottles toward dial55.

In the operation of the infeed mechanism described above, bottlesdelivered to the machine by continuously moving conveyor 54 may accumu-ilate on the conveyor to the left of the stop device I00. As each bottleis moved through the stop device I00, the bottlewill slide along plate II5 So that the bottle will'be engaged by the infeed end-of the recess 60in cylinder 58. Rotation of the cylinder will enable the bottles to movefurther toward dial 56 under the control of the recess 60. In moredetail, cylinder 58 is rotated at such speed as compared to the speed oftravel of conveyor 54 that the cylinder holds the forward movement ofthe bottles to a slightly lower linear speedthan'is imparted to them bythe conveyor 54. This insures that the bottles will bear upon theleading portion of the recess 60, which portion is so designed that abottle in engagement therewith will leave the cylinder 58 in synchronismwith the pockets of dial 56. As soon as a bottle is fully engaged with apocket of dial 56, the bottle will be clear of the recess BIlformovement with the dial.

The provision of a helically recessed cylinder with the infeed portionof the recess of gradually increasing depth greatly reduces thepossibility of bottles becoming jammed. In more detail, if a threadedinfeed device having a uniform root diameter is used, bottles may becomejammed when they first contact with the infeed end .of the threads. Forinstance, a bottle may become jammed between the periphery of the threadand an opposed guide plate, the jam increasing as the device rotates tobring a higher thread portion against the bottle. By having the recess60 of gradually increasing depth and with the guide plate or detectorlying on a line parallel to the base diameter of this portion of therecess, the possibility of jamming is minimized.

Because all of the elements included in the infeed device are adjustablymounted on the work table 30, theycan readily be secured in position tohandle bottles of various sizes. The provision of flexible couplings inthe connections to the shaft 54 which drives cylinder 58 permits driveof the cylinder to be maintained in any-adjusted position. It will beunderstood that the various elements will normally be spaced apart by adistance very slightly greater than the diame-' ter of the portion ofthe bottle with which they contact. The dial 56 is removable so thatbottles of different sizes may be handled on the machine by substitutionof a dial having the proper sized pockets for such bottles.

Container supports and tilting cams Referring to Figures 6 and 11, eachcontainer support 44 includes a hinge I25 comprising two plates I26 andI2! pivotally joined by a pin I28. The hinge plate I2'I of eachcontainer support is fixed to the upper peripheral edge portion I29 oftable 42 by means of suitable machine screws indicated at I30. Asappears in Figure 5, the plates I21 lie closely adjacent to each other.Each plate includes an upwardly extending central boss I3I shown inFigure 11. A threaded bore I 32 in-the boss is inwardly inclined withrespect to the axis of the table to be aligned with a bore I33 adjacentthe edge of the table. A threaded rod I 34 is screwed into threaded boreI32 in such position that its lower end will limit downward movement ofthe container support with respect to table 42 as hereinafter described.Rod I34 will be secured in adjusted position by means of a lock nutbearing upon boss I3I.

As is also shown in Figure 12, the plate I26 of hinge I25 is secured toa plate depending from a cylinder I4II.. A plunger MI is mounted in thelower end of cylinder I40 and the upper end of plunger I4I has a rod I42extending therefrom and through an opening in the outer end of thecylinder. Plunger MI and rod I42 are normally hft e t m nde o qsie tedntieh ae h oomil ko e .hst h *6 i ll -1 mep ertheq hin 21391 .580 'iL 'E-Imore 5151i theihonsio 13A ibottle supportmguplate :l-5; =is; fixed:toithea end ofzplm l iihwithin-acuprl 5 izzAi-sprin L66zposiztionechhetvzeenitheg.aumierside; ,;.of-;: plate :1 65 andtheemwerisuriacetofricup 11.63-.:oormallyurges zplate t5.5;zta-;:the ap.ositio'ni,zgillustrated1:,-in-@Eigure 111 wa'sheraheld implaca- 46 katzthednneb end .mentig, hichjspringxtflwamapplyito; thezpimjand plate;1A5 iissdescribedainifieorgeicw.uNewton amtRauloRroBowell-'BatentziNo.:1:2;2'l3;'l61uissued *Ebmary 1217. 11942late 3165 -risi1proizided awi-th peizipher'al notches which 'g-jaterallygengage shgugders 1.168 1-;withini eup s .453; The mshouidersandjnotehesj-ihold the izp'late .iagainsti rotation ;andtheisurfacesalflxofi ithe phouldere are :downmardl-y inclined:lztQWflIdthei center .of :a thelcup toithereby element uenterabottlesans-plate; L65 -whemitheia lattemiszdepressed; 7 V

A wheel 12 formed of:.fnietiommaterial is aselcuzeclwtoastheuhdersideiiof cup; fi3-tiabyim'eans of boltsii-lflflhiwhichiipassthrougha-wheelzlt andiinto aiimgiislflairecessed-i in' the Wheel.fwheeliilzrihas its; periphery taperedeas :ashownalnrsEigurel' 1L tother ebya pz operlyuengage the :sp'inningadisc :52.

engt e braking g'cliawlt showr "ir ii iguree l ond i-llibe free trotate-w th ioui'nalledgcentrail-yi. ofxthee housin 455 bma maohineecgew tapinvlfil limitskztheamovethe whe m- 59 3 5811 ada teim eh o ethou 1 helical cam 19=of h'iguree2 e nd fi. L gt-lifqill be observed thatroller fi8 -fis j'otetuloly de en en o h Whe l2 an th -rq le .onbo U l no th last-m i e elemen ,wi ineoe s r l rqta wi at cl mpedrinia go tainei zsupport.

elination gradually ine easi g' l to the l-freel end ,ofgthe oamp 301'exa ple, Figure 8' ,shows= the inclination; bfy the, surface at theextreme end dfgthe infeed ehd of laterally prbjectingQortioh 65b and"it,will be observed, that; the lower .edge 130 is ,substzmtia'lly"inwardly ofthe upper edge l8]. 'ihThese outward. portions,fifialand 66b orgc m ,156 are; in ,plan'," resnec'tiyely very slight-1y: oneave gnd veryp slightlyaoonvex.

' Eigur es yfi and '7 villustrate thecam ,63'. Whieh gn fp fih-fih llffin r of the. clamping a1jn1.4a; r each -container supports 44 andwhich ispalso mounted o n the castingl'l5. Cami63 .is of full hehtibetyqeen the lines A and FAofFigure l but grey 11ydecreasesinrheightubeyondthosepoints a cl owag rgd'the line'sgB.and:E,"..,respeetively.

u' esfl, Sand ,lfi -best illustrate the .form of thehelioel .o tpute icmodlfl, which isprefeietbly jQ IcQI aii in press f, section throughout.its length; Figur'ef 7. s hows the'oam rod. in top plan" and Eigureflshows the cam, rodrasview'ed e lqwer jedge .v-of Figure "'7.Considei'iil thesg tpv iews together, itwillbe observed that the cptrallpoiftion of the gem extends between points; on. the HlinesvB and;E, 'lies' in a horizontal pla i'e, and is} qoncentriqwith theaxisoftherotary tabla-J42. j'Ijhecentl al portionQof ca'mJUhasI a. m tal i'i il85fWB1ded to its unde'rside andwhich strip; isgeeeuredto the innerportion of the work U W 39. The horizontalplaneinlwhichgthe eentra lortion of earn 10 lies isnloest illustrated in p I 6,; ,from/whi,ch.itwill-be observed that the pod; lies s uflic'ientlyi below the. uppersurface..32 of ta,b1e,g ;thatlthe' rodiwill be e gagedtbyj the tergis inupright position. At -the timewthat a wheeljfl is epggging theeent 'alportiomof cam ro ilfl h airol e 6 pontthe co r, s pp rt-. he; inengagement. with the central Por ion tg-qqftheih er cam plate 6 6. I

QR erring ,to.,.Figures,7 -a nd'9,with the rot a ry "n io he in a.ClQQkWisedilfigtioh, the poron. 9 ,410 cam rodzifl w i dn r0 downward 1ylting oyement 013 the bontainenpsupportsg 44 h to; :the left, from jthef ,cen trol- 'pbr tion jof m m ha r u r i i i' at when-macaw19d;spiia ls .downwai'tilyand somewhat qutWEilfQY as viewed in top plahto the point B. 'I'hen i-it gpi ca ls, inwardlyand downwardly; tqthepoit; C. niqthen rd pm. W111i B I PQi t i fia rod o lows-t he al pat w iextend ;.a 9. s leum-1 id w'er i n tconiam eunr por 4.

imq -adet ilith co 19d: ol ow cl fin theth ca at lon whic h ho e pe-iphe ryj ,lof.v rol ler -Z68p.-;vs(i1l pass-ae vthe eo ta-iner inclinedwith respect to the vertical, thi's iin' wheel fifipfe eontainer support.44 while the .lat- V 11 support is tilting downwardly from the positionshown in Figure 6 to a position such as illustrated at the right ofFigure 2.

It will be observed'from Figure 10 that the portion Ia inclinesdownwardly at a much steeper angle than the portion 1011. Thisarrangement will cause the container to be moved to inverted position asquickly as possible so that spinning Will quickly start and before syrupreaches the capped end of the container.

The downwardly inclined portion 10a of cam rod I0 has an arcuate skirtI85 secured to its undersurface by Welding and a horizontal'fiange I86integral with this skirt is secured to the base of the machine tothereby support the cam.

The portion 10b of cam rod I0 shown at the right of Figures 7 and 9 is amore gradual decline from the central portion than the portion 10asogthat containers will be uprighted less quickly than they areinitially inverted. Figure 10 shows the portionjust referred to asviewed looking toward Figure 9 from the right and indicates thedifference in sharpness of inclination. As is shown in Figures 7, 9 and10, the extreme end portion 10d is substantially horizontal andconcentric with the table axis so that a wheel I2 will come into gradualcontact therewith. This portion will also lie in such position under thespinning disc 52 that a wheel I2 cannot strike the butt end of the cam.A second skirt element I85 with flange I86 supports the portion 10b ofthe cam rod.

As shown in Figures 1 and 7, in order to lubricate the surface of thespinning disc 52 which is engaged by the spinning wheels I2, as well asthe cam rod I0 and the rollers 68 which engage it, the machine may befitted with a lubricant reservoir I90 secured to the inner side of thesta-- tionary table 30. A tube I9I extending from the reservoir dropsoil upon a roller I92 shown in detail in Figure 14. As is clear from thelatter figure, roller I92 is formed of suitably absorbent material andis rotatably mounted on a pin I93 depending from the outer end of alever I94. Lever I94 is rotatable about a stud I95 mounted in a bracketI96 secured to the table 30. A spring I91 surrounding stud I95 urges thearm I94, and thereby roller I92, in a clockwise direction as viewed inFigure 1. Roller I92 lies in the horizontal plane through which thespinning wheels I2 move when they reach the line B. Spring I9I urges theroller I92 into contact with each spinning wheel I2 as the latter passesthe roller and lubricant'is thereby wiped on the wheels. Such lubricantwill be applied to the periphery of the large spinning disc 52 by thewheels I2. In addition, lubricant will work downwardly upon the roller68 when the container support is upright to thereby lubricate the roller68 which engages the cam I0. In this Way, cam I0 will be lubricated aswell as the spinning wheels and disc 52.

In Figure 5 a modification of the lubrication arrangement isillustrated. This involves a'tube I9Ia leading from reservoir I90 to apoint above cam rod 10 and adjacent line B. Oil dropping onthe cam willbe picked up by the wheels I2 with the same result as the systemdescribed above.

The brake I6 is illustrated in Figures 17 to 19 from which it will beobserved that the brake dial is rotatable upon a pin 200 mounted at theouter end of a lever 20 I. Intermediate its length, lever 20I includes acup portion which is pivotally'mounted upon a pin 202 carriedin abracket 203 secured adjacent its inner end 204 to thestationary table 30of the machine: The inner end 205 of lever 20'I has a stud 206'pivotally connected thereto and which stud extends through '2. lug 20?extending upwardly from bracket 203. A spring 208 is positioned-betweenthe outer surface of'lug20I and a stop washer 209 and lock nuts securedto the outer end of stud 206. Spring 206'urges lever 20l in acounterclockwise direction about its pivot 202 "with the result that thebrake dial I6 is urged'inwardly along aline radially of the axis oftable 42 i I 1 It will be perceived that by the foregoing construction,-the container'supports will be downwardlytilted at relatively highspeed as they follow the coursedefined between the outerlefthand-portion'66a of cam plate 66 and the lefthand portion 10a of camrod I0. Cam plate 66 will urge the container supports from uprightposition to initiate their tilting, but the tilting will be finallycontrolled by the cam rod 10 so that the container support will besmoothly tilted during highspeed rotation of table 42 until spinningwheel I2 engages the spinning disc 52. As is indicated at the right ofFigure 2, the extent of contact of the spinning wheel I2 with the drivenspinning disc 52 is limited because a wear stud 2I0a (Figure 11) securedto the base of the container support housing I55 will come into contactwith the lowerend of the stop screw I34 associated with that containersupport. A plate 2I0 closes the lower end of housing I55 to'preventwater from reaching the interior thereof.

When a container support 44 comes'adjacent the end 1011 of cam rodl0'shownat-the right of Figures '7 Y and 9 and lying at point Di engagementof the roller 68 with the am 'rod will cause the container support to belifted. 'When' the containersupport is in'almost upright position, itsroller 64 will engage the portion 66b of cam plate 66- and thelatterwillcoact'with" "cam rod I0 to finally control the uprighting' movement ofthe container support. When the container support reaches uprightposition, its'band 14 will engage one of the pockets of the brake dialI6 and because the dialis formed of frictional material, therotation' ofthe bottle continuing from the action of the spinning disc 52 will bestopped. However, as has been mentioned abovejthe' contents of thebottle will continue to spin, thereby thoroughly wiping all syrup fromthe interior of the bottle. Immediately thereafter, ien'gagement of theroller (Figure 6) I48 of the container support with the upwardlyinclined iniee'd end of the cam 63 .will cause the" clamping arm 48 to'be raised so that the bottle .will 'st'and'free upon thecontainersupport in' readiness for removal by outfeed dial I8. l

The bottles will be substantially inverted and spun by positiveengagement with spinning disc 52 during about 105 of their rotation withtable 42. With the machine operating to handle I50 six ouncebottles perminute, the duration of positive spinning at 2,000. R. P. M. willbeabout seven seconds. The bottles are moving from upright position toinverted position during about 60? of the rotation of table 42; and aremoving from inverted to upright position during-approximately of therotation of table 42.

The terminologyused in the specification is for the purpose ofdescription and not of limitation, the scope of the invention'beingdefined in the appended claims.

We claim: 1. In a mixing. apparatus, a base, atablefi'otatable withrespect to said base about a verti- :13 oal: axisycontainer supports;mounted. on; the-1pe.- riphery of said table andutilta'ble-lvertically-be- :tween upright; andinverted.positions. radially. ofthetable'saidcontainer supports including upper and lower rotarycontainer clamping.- members,

' -means carriedgby: saidibase tddeliver containers toland remove themfrom said, supports, a ."disk below and coaxial. with .said table. saiddisk? be.- ing rotatable with respect. to saidabase, the low- :ercontainer clampingmemberincluding awheel .adaptedito contact withsaiddiskiwhenthe container supports. are substantially inverted, meansto: rotate said. table .and. disk. sogthat .the edisk willrotate morerapidly than;.the.table:. so;as tospina container-clampedbetween saidclamp- .ing members, and a .cam .fixed :to said :base to en-:gagei.the;.-lower clamping. members. :of-said coni- ..tainersupports tothereby control the ipositionapf said container supports, said camincludingya horizontal .portion extending through the..pa'rt of ithepath:of. rotation' of. said .table during which container supports are;upright and .oppos'ite said containerxdelivering and. removing;means,.said cam-also includinga helix portion at each endof said:horizontal. portion, said helix. portions re- :spectively extending,throughout. the portions .of the path of rotationnfsaid-tableduringwhich said container supports .are moving: to inverted positionand; are being restoredto. upright position, -.the:. helix :portionwhich: inverts. said. cantainer. supports being more :sharply inclinedthan the helix .portion. which uprights said container supports. I j

1 :2. :A .mixing apparatus of the character. -.'de-

scribed in claim 1 wherein said cam is ofrod-like zgriphery. of; said:table and tiltable vertically between upright and invertedpositionsradially of the table, said container. support including upperand lower rotary container clamping members, a disk below and coaxialwith said table,.said disk'being rotatable .with respect to saidabase;

' the lower container clamping. memberv including a-wheel adaptedtocontactwith said diskwvhen the container support is. substantiallyinverted,

. -pair of container support: tilting cams fixed to V I saidbase,.correspondingpointson said cams .being opposed-in. planesradialeofasaid table, .=said cams extending along a portion of the pathof rotation of said table, and means to rotate said table and disk sothat the disk will rotate more rapidly than the table so as to spin acontainer clamped between said clamping members.

4. A mixing apparatus of the character described in claim 3 wherein therespective container support tilting cams are arranged to engagediametrically opposite points on the container support and which pointslie on lines extending radially of said table.

5. A mixing apparatus of the character described in claim 3 wherein therespective container support tilting cams are arranged to engagediametrically opposite points on the container support and which pointslie on lines extending radially of said table, and a pair of rollersjournalled on said container support to respectively engage said cams.

6. A mixing apparatus of the character described in claim 3 wherein oneof the tilting cams comprises a plate-like element fixed to said baseabove said table and the effective surface of the other cam defines ahelix extending along the :pathof tilting .androtarymovementofi-thewontainersupport-.iwith;said:.table..,H. 1:7. :Amixingpapparatusgofi the..- character zider scribeddn claim fiuwhereinthegfirst-mentioned cam is .of .-convex::form in -a vhorizontalplane:and includes laterally .projecting. endportions.

18. -A.. mixing. .app,aratus of vthe .charaeter :zdescribed. in; claim:6 :wherein .the :firshmentioned cam. extendsithrough approximately-.19030f: the rotation *of...said1table; and. -the. .=sec.0nd ecameex--t.en'ds; through approximately; 1809-; of: the .iz-rotation-,of.;saidtable'..';

9. Apmixing .apparatus :Of. the-. character ;;described .in;..c1a-im 5:6*swherein. 117118 ;second-men tionedcamiisi of irodelikeformy 410. In;combination, ea. base; table. including-ran eupper -.horiz,o'ntalsurface, .;a pocketed dial-rotatable above zsaid:.surface .of; the.ztableiiabouti a vertical-,axis; .a. containernsupporting; conveyorhavingcits:;upper.arun. .movableitowardxandailast said :.dial,-.in-;the;;plane of'said tablesurfaces and .in a. .directiomsubstantiallyrtangentialewithmespectgtoi said. .diaLso .as; tomove-containers ctO- wardzsaid .dial,;, a;:cylindrical;-.memberextending :alongsidesaid conveyor. run at the .side'. thereof .op'posite.said dial; said: member. beingrijournalled for..- rotation: about; a:horizontal: axisgpanallelito the-direction .of movement. of. said..conveyor;and havingits circumferential;surfaceaprovidednwith ahelically extending;recessiormed on ar pitch wliichgincreasestoward saiddialgtheminoi diameter. of: the recess .decreasing:xfromsitswinlet iendtoward. the dial to; definea line;-lyinglatgaslight angle to thedirection of movement.v of-asaid-conveyor: run guide means. on;the.:dial.side ofisaid conveyor to I direct. .a.container.; into i therecess .of saidimember and including-.2.containerxengaging surface lyingin a vertical planenparallelirto said .Jline defined; .bythe minoridiamete'r. of: .the recess, and .means- .tocdrivel said.cylindricalzmem- -ber and dialpin. synchronismzandi to. driveesaid.conveyorata faster linear speed. than isaidamember.

" 1 1.? The.--.combination sdescribed; ;.-in claim; 10

wherein the line: defined: .by zthe; minor. .-.diameter .of....therecess of said: cylindrical -member lies .at

an angle ofapproximately six. degrees to the'sdirection of-movement.ofzsaid conveyor. I 12.?Thecombihation-idesciribedr in claim 210.wherein said; guide means. is pivoted: on .a .ver-

-tical .axis and. is vspring urged'towardsaid. cylindrical member.

13. The combination described in claim 10 wherein the end of thecylindrical member adjacent said dial has a periphery generated by anarcuate line concentric with the circumference of said dial.

14. The combination described in claim 10 wherein said driving meansincludes a removable drive element.

15. The combination described in claim 10 wherein said cylindricalmember is adjustable with respect to said drive means.

16. The method of mixing by spinning the contents of a sealed containerfilled with carbonated water and a syrup which comprises moving thecontainer through a predetermined mixing path and inverting thecontainer from the upright position in which it was filledand in whichposition the syrup is still undisturbed and below the water, invertingthe container during the initial portion of its travel in said path soas to initiate endwise flow of the syrup along one wall of thecontainer, spinning the container about its longitudinal axis at highspeed, with such. spinning 15 movement being initiated when thecontainer reaches substantially inverted position but before movement ofthe syrup endwise of the container brings the syrup to the lowered endof the container, and then uprighting the container.

17. In combination, a base table including an upper horizontal surface,a pocketed infeed dial rotatable above said surface of the table about avertical axis, a table rotatable with respect to said base about avertical axis, container supports mounted on the periphery of said tableand tiltable vertically between upright and inverted positions radiallyof the table, said container supports including rotary containerclamping members, a disk below and coaxial withsaid table, said diskbeing rotatable with respect to said base, a pocketed outfeed dialrotatable above said horizontal surface of the base table about avertical axis, a plurality of shafts respectively secured to said dialsand said rotary table, a plurality of sprocket wheels, one carried byeach of said shafts, all of said sprocket wheels lying in the samehorizontal plane, said shafts being arranged at the apices of atriangle, a motor driven shaft having a sprocket wheel fixed thereto andin said plane, and a pair of shaft-carried idler sprockets alsolying insaid plane and outside of. the triangle formed by said threefirstmentioned shafts, a sprocket chain engaging all of said gears,asecond motor driven shaft provided with a horizontally disposed drivenpinion,

and a gear fixed to said disk, said motor driven pinion and said gearbeing operatively connected.

18. The combination described in claim 17 including rotary means todeliver containers directly to said infeed dial, and'means to drive saidlast-mentioned means from the shaft of said infeed dial.

19. The combination described in claim 17 including rotary means todeliver containers directly to said infeed dial, means to drive saidlastmentioned means from the shaft of said infeed dial and including aremovable element.

20. In an apparatus of the character described, a container supportincluding a housing, a container engaging element including a hubportion rotatable in said housing, a container platform, and a circularfriction element adapted to have driven engagement with a drivingelement to thereby rotate said container engaging element with respectto said housing, and means to removably secure said platform and ment tosaid hub portion.

21. In combination, a base, a table rotatable upon said base about avertical axis, a plurality of container supports pivoted for movementradially of said table and including rotatable container engagingelements, a brake, element mounted on said base including a bracketfixed to the base, a lever including an inverted cup portionintermediate its length and journalled on a pin-projecting upwardly fromthe bracket, a

friction elebrake shoe positioned on the end of the lever upon theconveyor, said means being positioned at a height above the conveyorwhich is less than the diameter of the containers,

23. The combination described in claim 22 wherein said means comprisestwo members, one of which is at one side of the conveyor and has a facewhich is convex to extend. toward, the median line of the conveyor andthe other member is on the opposite side of the conveyor and is recessedopposite the convex face of the first member.

CARL L. DAY. LEO F. PAHL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent: V

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,086,273 Kantor et al July 6,1937 2,117,226 I Steward May 10, 1938 2,216,090 Newton Sept. 24, 19402,274,245 Newton Feb. '24, 1942 2,290,562 Kantor July 21, 1942 2,295,114Kantor Sept. 8, 1942 2,297,154 Kantor Sept. 29, 1942

